Tech Law Journal Daily E-Mail Alert
Wednesday, May 7, 2014, Alert No. 2,655.
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Obama Administration Opposes R&D Tax Credit Bill

5/6. The Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stated in a release that "the Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 4438", and "If the President were presented with H.R. 4438, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill."

The EOP released this statement the week the House leadership scheduled consideration of HR 4438 [LOC | WW, the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014", a bill to revise and make permanent the research and development tax credit, which is codified at 26 U.S.C. § 41.

President Obama has approached the R&D tax credit as he has the issue of visas for skilled tech workers. That it, he has publicly advocated a position that wins praise from the tech sector, and then when presented with an actual bill that embodies his previously stated positions, he has opposed and worked to prevent the bill from becoming law.

On November 30, 2012, the House passed HR 6429 [LOC | WW], the "STEM Jobs Act of 2012", by a vote of 245-139. See, story titled "House Passes STEM Visas Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,480, December 1, 2012. That bill would have enabled aliens who obtain advanced degrees in STEM fields from US universities to obtain visas, and therefore remain in the US, and contribute to innovation and economic development. Two days before the House voted on this bill, the EOP released a statement announcing that "the Administration opposes House passage of H.R. 6429". See also, story titled "Obama Opposes STEM Visas Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,478, November 29, 2012.

On April 29, 2014, the House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC) held a mark up session at which it amended and approved this R&D tax credit bill. See, amendment in the nature of a substitute, and story titled "House Ways and Means Committee Approves Bill to Make R&D Tax Credit Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014.

On May 6, the House Rules Committee (HRC) adopted a closed rule for consideration of the bill. That is, no amendments can be offered during floor consideration. Also, debate will be limited to 90 minutes. The House is scheduled to consider this bill on Wednesday, May 7.

Republican and Democratic Presidents, Representatives and Senators have publicly advocated making the R&D tax credit permanent for decades. Numerous such bills are introduced in each Congress. However, the Congress continues to enact mostly one year extensions. Moreover, it often allows the credit to expire, and retroactively extends it. The last extension of the R&D tax credit expired on December 31, 2013. HR 4438 is retroactive to that date.

There are reasons for this continuous series of short term and retroactive extensions. First, by keeping the credit temporary, administration and Congressional budget staff, in making revenue projections, can pretend that tax revenues will be higher. That is, setting retroactive and temporary extensions of the R&D tax credit is part of the ongoing budgetary smoke and mirrors process.

Second, by keeping the issue on the agenda, candidates for federal office, and especially incumbents, can rely upon a continuous flow of endorsements and campaign contributions from supporters of the credit.

It is highly unlikely that the 113th Congress will enact a permanent extension of the R&D tax credit. The House Republican leadership understands this. Moving this bill at this time may be in part a way to portray President Obama and the Democratic Party as opponents of the credit, economic growth, and maintaining the competitiveness of the US tech sector, going into the November 2014 Congressional elections.

House Commerce Committee to Mark Up STELA Reauthorization Bill

5/6. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT), announced in a release that "bipartisan agreement has been reached" on legislation to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA). However, he did not release the legislative text that embodies this agreement.

The HCC is scheduled to mark up this bill on Wednesday and Thursday, May 7 and 8, 2014. The HCC will meet at 4:00 PM on May 7 for opening statements, and at 10:00 on May 8 for the mark up.

Rep. Walden, Rep. Ann Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced HR 4572 [LOC | WW] on Tuesday, May 6, 2014.

As of publication of this issue, this text of this bill had not yet been published in the Library of Congress's Thomas web site. Rep. Walden stated in his release that this bill will "Reauthorize the law for five years", "Include limitations on joint retransmission consent negotiations", "Provide stability to broadcasters in response to the FCC's changes on the attribution of joint sales agreements under the media ownership rules", "Eliminate the ``sweeps´´ week prohibition on signal change", and "Eliminate the set-top box integration ban".

On March 25 the HCC/SCT marked up a draft version of this bill. This main provision of that draft bill is reauthorization of the STELA. It provides for a five year extension. However, that draft bill also addressed the FCC's media ownership rules, retransmission consent, sweeps week, the integration ban, and other issues.

See, discussion draft of the bill, the HCC's draft summary, and TLJ bill summary in story titled "HCC/SCT to Mark Up STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,635, March 24, 2014. See also, story titled "HCC/SCT Marks Up STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,636, March 25, 2014.)

CRJs Propose Record Keeping Requirements for Webcasters

5/2. The Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) announces, describes, recites, and requests comments on, proposed rules regarding "filing notice of use and the delivery of records of use of sound recordings under two statutory licenses of the Copyright Act". This pertains to "reports of use of sound recordings for the statutory licenses set forth in sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act". The CRJs also published a second notice in the FR that reaffirms the 2009 rules.

These notices are not clear for those not involved in this process. The CRJ proposes to revise its rules governing how digital music services (webcasters and others) must report the songs that they play to SoundExchange. This rulemaking is not about the important issue of rates. Rather, it is about the burdensome task of record keeping and reporting. SoundExchange wants much more data. The CRJs want public comments.

The deadline to submit initial comments is June 2, 2014. The deadline to submit reply comments is June 16, 2014.

David Oxenford (Wilkinson Barker Knauer) has written a more detailed summary of this CRJ FR notice.

Those who own copyrights in sound recording have a performance right for most but not all types of performances. Digital music services (webcasters and others) do not need to negotiate a license to perform sound recordings. The perform copyrighted sound recordings pursuant to the statutory licenses of Section 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act. The CRJ sets rates. Webcasters pay royalties to an intermediary (SoundExchange), which distributes money to rights holders.

The notice states that back on October 6, 2006 the CRJ released interim regulations. Then, on October 13, 2009, the CRJ released its final rule, "establishing requirements for census reporting for all but those broadcasters who pay no more than the minimum fee for their use of the license". See, notice in the FR, Vol. 74, No. 196, October 13, 2009, at Pages 52418-52427.

SoundExchange filed a petition for rulemaking on October 13, 2013. It is a performance rights organization (PRO) that represents sound recording copyright owners (SRCO), such as record companies, in the collection of performance royalties for digital performances under the statutory licenses codified at 17 U.S.C. § 112 and 17 U.S.C. § 114.

SoundExchange wants more data to be collected and reported. It also wants shorter deadlines for reports, and imposition of late fees.

Also, on October 28, 2009, the CRJ received a filing from the College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI), American Council on Education (ACE), and Intercollegiate Broadcasting Systems, Inc. (IBSI). The CRJ states that the petitioners' description of this item as a petition for clarification is incorrect. It requests substantive changes, and is therefore a petition for rulemaking.

This is Docket No. 14-CRB-0005 (RM). See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 85, May 2, 2014, at Pages 25038-25049.

The CRJ also simultaneously published a second notice in the FR this states that its 2009 rules are reaffirmed. It did this because there has been litigation regarding various issues, including the Constitutionality of the manner in which the CRJs were appointed.

Hence, the notice recites the history of the rule, and the litigation, and then states that "In light of the foregoing proceedings, the Judges recognize the need to clarify the effectiveness of the final regulation. Consequently, the Judges performed a de novo review of the comments underlying the final regulation and affirm the adoption of this regulation as published at 74 FR 52418 on October 11, 2009, in its entirety and without change (including the reasons set forth in the preamble thereto), thereby removing any doubt as to the effectiveness of the final regulation. Such affirmation also ensures the continuous effectiveness of the rules concerning notice and recordkeeping for users of copyrighted sound recordings." (Parentheses in original.)

See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 85, May 2, 2014, at Pages 25009-25010. See also, July 6, 2012 opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir), IBSI v. Copyright Royalty Board, 684 F.3d 1332, holding that the manner by which the Judges were appointed was unconstitutional.

People and Appointments

5/5. The Senate confirmed Nancy Moritz to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) by a vote of 90-3. See, Roll Call No. 130. She was previously a Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court for several years (appointed by then Governor Mark Parkinson). Before that, she was a Judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals (appointed by then Governor Kathleen Sebelius). Before that, she worked in the Office of the U.S. Attorney (DKan). And before that, she worked for the law firm of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne.

5/5. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a notice, to be published in the Federal Register (FR), that solicits expressions of interest from people who want to be members of the First Responder Network Authority, which is also known as FirstNet. This notice states that the terms of four members expire in August of 2014. The deadline to submit expressions of interest is May 23, 2014.

More News

5/6. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) regarding cyber security in the financial services sector. It states that "invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for IT asset management for the financial services sector. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the Financial Services sector program." See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 87, May 6, 2014, at Pages 25833-25834.

5/6. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced that they will hold a workshop on conditional pricing arrangements. This workshop will be on June 23, 2014. The deadline to submit comments is August 22. The FTC release and DOJ release state that they will "explore the economic and legal analysis of conditional pricing practices among firms in a supply chain. The workshop will focus on conditional pricing arrangements -- practices in which prices are explicitly or effectively contingent on commitments to purchase or sell a specified share or volume of a single product or a mix of multiple products -- such as loyalty or bundled pricing."

5/5. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a paper titled "Why Geoblocking Can Increase Consumer Welfare and Improve Income Equality". The author is the ITIF's Joe Kennedy. Geoblocking is the practice of charges different prices in different locations, for example, for online sales of digital works, such as e-books, movies, music, software, and video games. This paper argues that "it would be a mistake for policymakers to restrict such pricing practices"

5/5. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a notice in the Federal Register that states that its Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection will meet on May 22, 2014 in Miami, Florida. The DHS engages in several technology related activities, including enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) by seizing infringing goods, seizure of domain names, and warrantless searches of laptops, tablets, phones and other devices at entry points. The agenda for the meeting includes discussion of "the recommendations on the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Working Group's work to determine the feasibility of a Partnership Program for IPR" and "application of the Document Imaging System as a tool for IPR authentication". A CBP official told TLJ that this meeting will address CBP seizures of IPR infringing goods, probably between 1:30 and 2:00 PM. However, domain name seizures and searches of personal devices are not on the agenda. This notice also states the one "may attend either in person or via webinar after pre-registering". The Advisory Committee also seeks public comments on the agenda items. The deadline to submit comments is May 15, 2014. The deadline to register to attend, either on site or online, is 5:00 PM EST on May 20, 2014. See, FR, Vol. 79, No. 86, May 5, 2014, at Pages 25608-25609. See also, CBP notice.

4/21. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Luis Aguilar gave a speech titled "Looking at Corporate Governance from the Investor's Perspective" in which he addressed, among other things, electronic shareholder meetings. He stated that "One innovation that has the potential to increase engagement by retail shareholders is the use of electronic shareholder forums. To that end, in January 2008, the Commission adopted rules to facilitate the use of this tool by public companies and their shareholders. The intent was to facilitate shareholder communications and uphold shareholder rights by encouraging experimentation, innovation, and greater use of the Internet. Unfortunately, however, reports suggest that only a small minority of U.S. domestic issuers take advantage of this innovation. The Commission should investigate this and determine whether our rules should be amended." (Footnotes omitted.)

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In This Issue
This issue contains the following items:
 • Obama Administration Opposes R&D Tax Credit Bill
 • House Commerce Committee to Mark Up STELA Reauthorization Bill
 • CRJs Propose Record Keeping Requirements for Webcasters
 • People and Appointments
 • More News
Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Wednesday, May 7

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider HR 4438 [LOC | WW, the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014". See, stories titled "House Ways and Means Committee Approves Bill to Make R&D Tax Credit Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014, and "Obama Administration Opposes R&D Tax Credit Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,655, May 7, 2014. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 63, April 2, 2014, at Page 18605. Location: National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "University Research Funding: Still Lagging Behind and Showing No Signs of Improvement". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), William Bonvillian (MIT), and Kathleen Kingscott (IBM). See, notice. Location: Room 325, Russell Building.

9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. Day two of a three day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High Confidence Software and Systems Conference". See, conference web site. Location: Annapolis, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will meet to mark up 15 bills, and adopt a resolution authorizing the issuance of subpoenas for records by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Treasury (DOT). Several of these bills would make it easier for small and startup companies in the tech sector to raise capital. See, notice of hearing, and HFSC memorandum summarizing the bills to be considered. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold an event titled "Seminar on Privacy Implications of Consumer Generated and Controlled Health Data". There will be a presentation titled "Health Data Flows" by Latanya Sweeney (FTC Chief Technologist). There will be a presentation titled "A Snapshot of Data Sharing by Select Health and Fitness Apps" by Jared Ho (FTC Mobile Technology Unit). There will then be a panel discussion. The speakers will be Cora Han and Kristen Anderson (both of the FTC's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection), Christopher Burrow (Humetrix), Joseph Hall (Center for Democracy & Technology), Sally Okun (PatientsLikeMe), Heather Patterson (New York University), and Joy Pritts (DHHS).See, notice. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Samsung Electronics v. USITC, App. Ct. No. 13-1519. Panel H. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a discussion of the book titled "Intellectual Privilege: Copyright, Common Law and the Common Good". The speakers will be the author, Tom Bell (Chapman University School of Law), Chirstopher Newman (George Mason University School of Law), and and Jim Harper (Cato). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 3361 [LOC | WW], the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act'' or "USA FREEDOM Act". See also, story titled "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Surveillance Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014. Webcast. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Privacy and Social Media". The speakers will be Richard Santalesa (The Sm@rtEdgeLaw Group), Christopher Hearsey (Bigelow Aerospace), Adrian Fontecilla (Proskauer Rose), Peter Gillespie (Fisher & Phillips), and Jessica Flanigan (Monument Policy Group). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled "Investing in Cybersecurity". The witnesses will be Phyllis Schneck (DHS/NPPD Deputy Under Secretary -- Cyber), Peter Edge (DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement), William Noonan (DHS's Secret Service), Jonathan Katz (University of Maryland), Dave Mahon (CenturyLink), Scott Bowers (Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives), and Christopher Peters (Entergy Corporation). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing titled "FY15 Funding for Federal Information Technology Investments". The witnesses will be Steven VanRoekel (Office of Management & Budget), Dan Tangherlini (General Services Administration), Katherine Archuleta (Office of Personnel Management), and David Powner (Government Accountability Office). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

4:00 PM. The House Commerce's Committee (HCC) will meet to begin its mark up of HR 4342 [LOC | WW], the "Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014", also known as the DOTCOM Act, and a yet to be introduced STELA reauthorization bill. The Wednesday portion of this meeting is for opening statements only. See, notice and story titled "House Commerce Committee to Mark Up DOTCOM Bill and STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

6:30 PM ET. There will be an online panel discussion of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler's yet to be released Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding new rules to regulate the practices of broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers. See, stories titled "Wheeler Describes Draft Open Internet NPRM" and "Wheeler Says NPRM Will Seek Comments But Not Propose Rules on Internet Peering" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,649, April 29, 2014. The other speakers will be Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Robert McDowell (former FCC Commissioner who dissented when the FCC adopted the recently overturned rules), Matthew Prince (CloudFlare), Barbara van Schewick (Stanford Law School), and Cecilia Kang (Washington Post). See, Google web page for this event.

Thursday, May 8

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

8:30 AM - 2:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 63, April 2, 2014, at Page 18605. Location: National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Evolving Media Landscape: What do the Data Show?". The speakers will include Michael Smith (TPI and Carnegie Mellon University), Joel Waldfogel (University of Minnesota), Alejandro Zentner (University of Texas at Dallas), and Thomas Lenard (TPI). Breakfast will be served from 8:30 AM. Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: City Club, 555 13th St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Accelerating Sustainability: Maximizing the Benefits of Connected Cars". See, notice. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day three of a three day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High Confidence Software and Systems Conference". See, conference web site. Location: Annapolis, MD.

9:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing on Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. The witnesses will be Robert Marcus (Time Warner Cable), David Cohen (Comcast), Matthew Polka (American Cable Association), Scott Hemphill (Columbia Law School), Allen Grunes (Geyer Gorey), Patrick Gottsch (Rural Media Group), Dave Schaeffer (Cogent Communications), and Craig Labovitz (DeepField Networks). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting to mark up HR 4291 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Transparency and Modernization Act of 2014". See also, story titled "House Intelligence Committee to Hold Closed Mark Up of Its FISA Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014. Closed to the public. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce's Committee (HCC) will meet to complete its mark up of HR 4342 [LOC | WW], the "Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014", also known as the DOTCOM Act, and a yet to be introduced STELA reauthorization bill. See, notice and story titled "House Commerce Committee to Mark Up DOTCOM Bill and STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Couterterrorism and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protections, and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "Assessing Persistent and Emerging Cyber Threats to the U.S. Homeland". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) will meet to mark up the FY 2015 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill, and the Report on the Suballocation of Budget Allocations for FY 2015. See, notice. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda once again includes consideration of S 1720 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013". See, stories titled "Patent Legislation Update" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,637, April 7, 2014, and "Senate Judiciary Committee Members Still Working on Patent Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,641, April 17, 2014. The agenda also includes consideration of four District Court nominees: Carlos Mendoza (MDFl), Darren Gayles (SDFl), Paul Byron (MDFl), and Beth Bloom (SDFl). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Identifying Critical Factors for Success in Information Technology Acquisitions". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Cross Atlantic Capital Partner v. Facebook, App. Ct. No. 13-1596. Panel L. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

TIME? The Federal Election Commission (FEC) will meet to consider two advisory opinions regarding application of the federal election campaign finance regulatory regime to Bitcoins. See, Draft A and Draft B. See, story titled "FEC to Consider Bitcoin Advisory Opinions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,642, April 18, 2014. Location: FEC, 999 E St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Antitrust Analysis in Digital Platform Markets: Just One Side of the Story?". The speakers will be Lisa Kimmel (FTC), Aaron Hoag (DOJ), Pete Levitas (Arnold & Porter), Marc Rysman (Boston University), and Scott Sher (WSGR). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The Impact of Regulatory and Industry Standards on Patents". The speakers will be Logan Breed (Hogan Lovells), Jorge Contreras (American University law school), Michelle Herman (Intellectual Ventures), and Michael Hawes (Baker Botts). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Compulsory Video Licenses of Title 17". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protections, and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP): Threat to Critical Infrastructure". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Conflicts of Interest in Buy/Sell Transactions: How to Spot and Avoid Them". The speakers will be Ted Frank (Arnold & Porter), Alison Bost (Womble Carlyle), Bernard DiMuro (DiMuro Ginsburg), Saul Singer (District of Columbia Bar), Lawrence Movshin (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), Marni Byrum (McQuade Byrum), George Clark, and Michael Frisch (Georgetown University Law Center). CLE credits. No webcast. Prices vary. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on May 7. See, notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

Friday, May 9

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

TIME? Day six of a six day event hosted by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRDP), DARPA, NSA, and others titled "High Confidence Software and Systems Conference". Location: Annapolis, MD.

8:30 - 10:30 AM. The US Telecom will host an on site and webcast event titled "Voice Interconnection: Yesterday's Framework, Tomorrow's Service". The opening speakers will be Walter McCormick (USTelecom), Bennett Ross (Wiley Rein), and then Curtis Groves (Verizon). There will then be a panel discussion. The speakers will be Matthew Schwartz (Communications Daily), Hank Hultquist (AT&T), Karen Reidy (COMPTEL), and Glenn Richards (Pillsbury Winthrop). Free. Open to the public. A continental breakfast will be served. See, notice. Location: US Telecom, Suite 400, 607 14th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a partially closed meeting. The agenda includes reports on "science, technology, and innovation in China". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 81, April 28, 2014, at Page 23340. Location: National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will hold a meeting regarding "ways in which the national economic accounts can be presented more effectively for current economic analysis and recent statistical developments in national accounting". Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 40, February 28, 2014, at Pages 11400-11401. Location: BEA, 1441 L St.,  NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Fenner Investments, Ltd. v. Cellco Partnership, App. Ct. No. 13-1640. Panel N. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Innovative Biometric Technology v. Toshiba America, App. Ct. No. 13-1288. Panel M. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a public hearing on its memorandum titled "Guidance For Determining Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting or Involving Laws of Nature, Natural Phenomena, and Natural Products (Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance)'', released on March 4, 2014. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 74, April 17, 2014, at Pages 21736-21738. See also, story titled "USPTO to Hold Hearing on Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting Laws of Nature" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,640, April 16, 2014. Location: USPTO, Madison Auditorium, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, VA.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) in response to its Public Notice (PN) regarding the FCC's attributable material relationship rule. This PN is DA 14-414 in GN Docket Nos. 12-268 and 13-185 and WT Docket No. 05-211. The FCC released it on March 27, 2014. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 71, April 14, 2014, at Pages 20854-20855.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in response to its Public Notice (PN) regarding FCC rules that require fax advertisements sent to a consumer who has provided prior express invitation or permission to include an opt-out notice. This PN is DA 14-556 in CG Docket Nos. 02-278 and 05-338. The FCC released it on April 25, 2014.

Sunday, May 11

Mothers Day.

Monday, May 12

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Brookings Institution (BI) will host a program titled "35 Years Later: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Taiwan Relations Act". The speakers will include Shen Lyushun (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative). See, CSIS notice and BI notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. Marc Levoy (Stanford University) will deliver a presentation titled "Google Glass and the Future of Photography". This is a ticketed event. The price to attend ranges from free to $5. See, notice. Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

CANCELLED. 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Transition to All IP Networks: Update on Issues and Progress at State Commissions". The speakers will be __. Prices vary. CLE credits. No webcast. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on May 9. See, notice. Location: __.

EXTENDED TO JUNE 26. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding whether to eliminate or modify the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules. The FCC adopted and released this FNPRM on March 31, 2014. It is FCC 14-29 in MB Docket No. 10-71. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 69, April 10, 2014, at Pages 19849-19860. See, Public Notice (DA 14-525) extending deadlines.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding location surveillance. This FNPRM is FCC 14-13 in PS Docket No. 07-114. The FCC adopted it on February 20, 2014, and released it on February 21. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 60, March 28, 2014, at Pages 17819-17847. See also, story titled "FCC Proposes Changes to Location Surveillance Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,629, February 24, 2014.

EXTENDED TO JUNE 12. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) that requests comments to refresh the record regarding the ability of non-English speakers to access emergency information. This PN is DA 14-336 in EB Docket No. 04-296. The FCC released it on March 11, 2014. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 60, March 28, 2014, at Pages 17490-17493. See, April 24 Public Notice (DA 14-552) extending deadlines.

Tuesday, May 13

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Judicial Nominations". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Sorenson Communications v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 13-1122. This pertains to Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IPCTS). See also, FCC brief filed on March 13, 2014. Judges Brown, Griffith and Millett will preside. This is the third item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Music Licensing 2014: Songs and Sound Recordings". The speakers will be __. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Economic Espionage and Trade Secret Theft: Are Our Laws Adequate for Today's Threats?". This hearing was previously scheduled for March 25, 2014. The witnesses will be __. See, notice. See also, S 2267 [LOC | WW], the "Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2014", and stories titled "Sen. Coons Introduces Bill to Create Federal Private Right of Action for Misappropriation of Trade Secrets" and "Summary of S 2267, the Defend Trade Secrets Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,653, May 5, 2014. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding whether "whether additional guidance, clarification, or modification regarding the ``answered´´ and ``ring no answer´´ categories of call attempts described in Appendix C of the Rural Call Completion Order is necessary." The FCC adopted its Report and Order on October 28, 2013, and released it on November 8, 2013. It is FCC 13-135 in WC Docket No 13-39. See, FCC's April 21, 2014 Public Notice (DA 14-526), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 87, May 6, 2014, at Pages 25682-25683.

Wednesday, May 14

TIME? The George Mason University law school's Law and Economics Center (LEC) will host a conference titled "The Future of Privacy and Data Security Regulation". See, notice. For more information, call Jeff Smith at jsmithq at gmu dot edu or 703-993-8382. Location: GMU law school, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Innovations in Elections: Making Voting Accessible for Everyone". See, notice. Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, First Amendment Room, 529 14th St., NW.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host a webcast event titled "Quarterly Economic and Tech Industry Outlook". The speaker will be Shawn DuBravac. Prices vary. See, notice.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "2014 International Trade Law & Policy Debate". The speakers will be Elizabeth Drake (Stewart and Stewart), Matthew McCullough (Curtis law firm), and Benjamin Caryl (Kelley Drye & Warren). The price to attend ranges from $5 to $10. No CLE credits. No webcast. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: U.S. International Trade Commission, Courtroom A, 500 E St., SW.